BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
The competitors had just one shot in the Qualifying Round to make the Semifinals in Rodeo Austin and 24 in each event are moving on.
On the roughstock side of things, all 11 days of Long Round competition could be boiled down to Monday, March 13 when three of the biggest names going right now all took the lead in the same night.
RodeoHouston Champion Leighton Berry was 88 points and would eventually split the bareback riding with Will Lowe, Stetson Wright was 88 points to collect almost $4,000 as the saddle bronc riding Long Round winner, and JB Mauney rode Beutler & Son’s Black Panther for 86 points, a mark Tyler Bingham would later tie.
“I try to keep it simple, if I keep simple, I usually ride pretty good,” Mauney said. “It’s all about confidence riding bulls, if you don’t have a chip on your shoulder, you might as well go home.”
In the timed events, steer wrestler Gavin Soileau was 3.5 to edge out decorated cowboys like Curtis Cassidy, Kyle Irwin and Tyler Waguespack, who were all 3.8 or faster. In the team roping, J.C. Yeahquo and L.J. Yeahquo were a tenth faster than reigning NFR Average Champions Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith. Caleb Smidt won the tie-down roping with a 7.6-second run, giving him the fastest run of the rodeo in both Houston and Austin, and Kassie Mowry won the barrel racing with a 14.94 in the 10th performance to best the 14.97 set by BryAnna Haluptzok that had been standing since Performance No. 2.
The 24 advancing competitors in each event will be split into three groups of eight with the Top 8 overall from the three Playoff Semifinals moving onto the winner-take-all Finals at 8 PM ET on The Cowboy Channel and Cowboy Channel+.
BAREBACK RIDING
First Round: 1. (tie) Leighton Berry, on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter, and Will Lowe, on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Nutrena’s Tic Tac, 88 points, $2,707 each; 3. Garrett Shadbolt, 86.5, $2,256; 4. (tie) Caleb Bennett, Pascal Isabelle and Chad Rutherford, 86, $1,654 each; 7. (tie) Cooper Cooke and Lane McGehee, 85, $902 each; 9. Keenan Hayes, 84.5, $451; 10. Bradlee Miller, 83.5, $150.
STEER WRESTLING
First Round: 1. Gavin Soileau, 3.5 seconds, $3,929; 2. Curtis Cassidy, 3.6, $3,516; 3. (tie) Kyle Irwin and Tyler Waguespack, 3.8, $2,895 each; 5. (tie) Kyler Dick and Grady Payne, 3.9, $2,068 each; 7. Landris White, 4.0, $1,448; 8. Cody Cabral, 4.1, $1,034; 9. Stephen Culling, 4.2, $620; 10. (tie) Dalton Massey and Heath Thomas, 4.3, $103 each.
TEAM ROPING
First Round: 1. J.C. Yeahquo/L.J. Yeahquo, 4.2 seconds, $3,885 each; 2. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 4.3, $3,476; 3. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 4.7, $3,067; 4. Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins II, 4.8, $2,658; 5. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.9, $2,249; 6. (tie) Coy Rahlmann/Jonathan Torres and Aaron Tsinigine/Kyle Lockett, 5.0, $1,636 each; 8. (tie) Zach Kilgus/Jake Edwards and McCray Profili/McCoy Profili, 5.2, $818 each; 10. (tie) Ty Arnold/Kaden Profili, Keven Daniel/Douglas Rich and Garrett Tonozzi/Corey Hendrick, 5.3, $68 each.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
First Round: 1. Stetson Dell Wright, 88 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Mission Belles, $3,974; 2. (tie) Brody Cress and Mitch Pollock, 85.5, $3,346 each; 4. (tie) Jesse Kruse and Q McWhorter, 85, $2,510 each; 6. Tanner Butner, 84.5, $1,882; 7. Hardy Braden, 84, $1,464; 8. (tie) Ben Andersen, Damian Brennan and Zeke Thurston, 83.5, $627 each.
TIE-DOWN ROPING
First Round: 1. Caleb Smidt, 7.6 seconds, $3,885; 2. Blane Cox, 7.7, $3,476; 3. Tuf Case Cooper, 7.8, $3,067; 4. (tie) Britt Bedke, Westyn Hughes and Weldon Watson, 8.0, $2,249 each; 7. (tie) Beau Cooper and Cory Solomon, 8.1, $1,227 each; 9. Dakota Felton, 8.2, $613; 10. Ty Harris, 8.3, $204.
BARREL RACING
First Round: 1. Kassie Mowry, 14.94 seconds, $4,063; 2. BryAnna Haluptzok, 14.97, $3,635; 3. Latricia Mundorf, 14.98, $3,208; 4. Sharin Hall, 15.00, $2,780; 5. Tarryn Lee, 15.01, $2,352; 6. Taycie Matthews, 15.02, $1,925; 7. Jordon Briggs, 15.05, $1,497; 8. (tie) Leslie Smalygo and Amanda Welsh, 15.08, $855 each; 10. Cierra Erickson, 15.09, $214.
BULL RIDING
First Round: 1. (tie) Tyler Bingham, on Andrews Rodeo’s Casper, and JB Mauney, on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Black Panther, 86 points, $3,553 each; 3. Josh Frost, 85.5, $2,961; 4. Riggin Shippy, 83.5, $2,566; 5. Mazinho Jeremias, 79, $2,171; 6. Trey Holston, 77, $1,777; 7. Jace Trosclair, 75, $1,382; 8. Brody Yeary, 73.5, $987; 9. Colton Kelly, 69, $592; 10. Ray Mayo, 66, $197.
BREAKAWAY ROPING
First Round: 1. Kelsie Domer, 2.0 seconds, $3,929; 2. Jill Tanner, 2.1, $3,516; 3. (tie) Ari-Anna Flynn and Hope Thompson, 2.2, $2,895 each; 5. Loni Kay Yates, 2.3, $2,275; 6. (tie) Sarah Angelone, Makayla Boisjoli and Madalyn Richards, 2.6, $1,448 each; 9. (tie) Laramie Johnson, Erin Johnson and Heather McLaughlin, 2.7, $276 each.